On the last weekend of the summer break, Débaldérin 1 played a friendly match in preparation for the 2025 autumn season. The match was held in Amerongen against Hemur Enge 1. The Débaldérin players were eager to loosen up their joints and fine-tune their tactics for the upcoming season. The lineup had changed slightly compared to last year: this time we played with six women—two of them new—and only four men.
Hemur Enge 1 had invited us for this friendly. And I can already hear you thinking: haven’t we beaten them twice before indoors, and quite comfortably? Well, this time we were up against a brand-new team, recently graduated from the youth squads. Débaldérin was confident things would go smoothly and stepped onto the field full of optimism. The team was well warmed-up—half of us had biked the 15 km to Amerongen.
We started with Bart, Deen, Inge, and Rianne in attack, and Tom and Willemijn as the men in defense alongside Inge and Marieke. The match plan included a complicated substitution schedule to try different combinations and ensure everyone got some playing time. The opposing ladies were, surprisingly, roughly the same size or smaller than ours, and their men weren’t 2 meters tall either, but they were athletic young guys.
Nathalie opened the scoring with a beautiful running shot. Unfortunately, the opponent responded immediately, and it was quickly 1-1. Both teams scored in turn, and soon the score was 6-6. Whether this was before or after halftime, I honestly don’t remember—but it was nerve-wracking. The match was very even; in one men’s matchup, Débaldérin had the upper hand in rebounds, while Hemur Enge dominated the other. The women were very evenly matched as well, but Hemur Enge was slightly stronger at finishing close-range chances, whereas our women nailed almost everything from distance.
The easy win Débaldérin had expected turned out to be anything but. So how would they turn things around? In the second half, we started with Tom, Bart, Nathalie, and Inge in one division, and Deen, Reinier, Lara, and Rianne in the other. Kamiel, returning from injury, subbed in briefly during the second half, and Willemijn returned as one of the female players.
Around halftime, the youthful opponents had done a thorough analysis of our play and identified some weak spots. Débaldérin thought they were pulling away with an 8-6 lead, but Hemur Enge came back strong and surged ahead to 10-8. Apparently, they had suddenly found their shooting range from distance.
But then Débaldérin remembered what the captain had said in the locker room—that we needed to fight harder for the ball—and we started winning the duels. In the final quarter of the match, we equalized at 10-10. The battle was fierce; neither team wanted to give an inch. But the young and fit opposition may have enjoyed their summer break a bit too much—their stamina faded. Débaldérin, who had partly kept training during the vacation, still had energy left and pushed through to a 12-10 lead.
In the final minutes, Hemur Enge scored once more to show they hadn’t given up, but it wasn’t enough. Débaldérin secured their first win of the academic year.
What could this mean for the rest of the season? Which line-up brought the best results, and who, oh who, will take the men’s spots? And is this team strong enough to contend for the championship? We’ll find out by the end of October—or come watch a match earlier! You can find the schedule in the KNKV app.
P.S. Thankfully, almost everyone made it through the match unscathed—just one head-on collision at midfield between the two divisions, but that should heal quickly.
Written by Willemijn